


can I keep you?

by rexmyeon



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Ghosts, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Halloween, Junmyeon is a bit clumsy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-10
Updated: 2020-11-10
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:28:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27049456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rexmyeon/pseuds/rexmyeon
Summary: Not every ghost is scary, after all. Especially not when he pouts and wears fluffy sweaters.
Relationships: Kim Junmyeon | Suho/Oh Sehun
Comments: 11
Kudos: 73
Collections: CASE–94's Midnight Tales





	can I keep you?

**Author's Note:**

> This piece was written for the first Midnight Tales round of the CASE–94 Fest for Oh Sehun.
> 
>  **Prompt:** CH1-012  
>  _Sehun really can't stand anything scary until he meets a clumsy ghost who can only kind of go through walls._
> 
> Hello dear readers! Enjoy my teeny tiny spooky story filled with lots of clumsiness and fluff.
> 
>  **To the prompter:** Thank you for this amazing prompt! I couldn't resist claiming it the moment I saw it. Hope the fic actually lives up to your expectations, and you will enjoy the adventures of Sehun and his clumsy ghost.  
>  **To the mods:** Thank you for organising the fest, I'm really glad I could take part in it! I had lots of fun writing. Hopefully see you again very soon.

Sehun makes sure to knot his favourite woolen scarf tightly around his neck. Autumn is in its finest this time of the year. He definitely doesn’t need a stuffy nose or dry cough to deal with.

It’s Thursday, almost the weekend in Sehun's student dictionary, and he couldn’t be happier about surviving one of the toughest weeks of his college life. He leaves the university building with a huge smile plastered on his face, walking towards the small house he shares with seven other students, _very_ loud and messy young men, his best friends. 

His phone wakes up to life, beeps with a few notifications. Sehun briefly reads the content of them, checks the calendar to update it with a few important events he got informed about, abruptly stopping in his tracks as the cruel realization dawns on him. He forgot. He forgot about the most important thing. It’s October. Or, how Baekhyun and Jongdae like to call it, _Spooktober._

The boy lets out a strained groan into the fabric of his scarf. How could he forget? He promised himself to be prepared this year.

It’s too late. He is doomed. That's official. 

Sehun, the world’s biggest scaredy-cat, lives with a bunch of fear-addicted horror lovers cherishing Halloween and Spooktober beyond imagination. His friends are preparing for the scariest holiday the month prior, too excited to wait, because _there’s never enough spookiness, Sehunnie_ as Jongdae repeats every time Sehun criticizes their weird habit. And it’s a real life nightmare for poor Sehun, because he absolutely despises everything scary, is it ghosts, zombies, or _anything_ reminding him of that cursed day at the end of October.

There is no doubt Sehun will come back home to rooms filled with spooky decorations letting out weird noises, Minseok wearing his worn-out skeleton pyjamas, Chanyeol shaking out of fear but pretending he’s tough to impress Jongdae, Baekhyun telling various ghost stories, preferably _every_ minute of the day, and other boys simply enjoying any distraction from their university duties.

One step through the threshold of the place he calls home for the last two years strengthens Sehun's belief that his friends are truly obsessed.

It’s barely the first day of the month, but as expected, every part of the joint living room is covered in fake spider's web, lights in shapes of ghosts, and in addition to that, a full-size skeleton named Spooky, Yixing's bizarre addition to their small family, is settled on the sofa right between very excited Baekhyun and quite bored Kyungsoo, a weird bowler hat sitting on top of its head.

Sehun silently wonders when the guys even had time to thoroughly prepare everything, and if they skipped classes to turn their place into a haunted house, to his dismay. Knowing his friends, that’s very likely.

The youngest takes off his shoes, waves a quick hello, wishing to get to his room located upstairs as soon as possible, but a light tap on his shoulder holds him in place. Sehun can’t help jumping with a loud scream, influenced by the spooky aura of the house and his constant inner fear of surprises and unexpected experiences.

Jongdae laughs at him. Sehun isn’t amused, not even in the slightest.

"Sehunnie, you're home right on time. We're starting the horror movie marathon in a minute," excited Jongdae squeaks when Sehun swats at his hand. "Hey! You can sit next to Spooky if you're scared. He will gladly hold your hand."

Sehun frowns. "Hyung, you know I _hate_ horror movies," he absentmindedly fiddles with his fingers, avoiding looks given by his friends. "And I’m busy tonight."

Jongdae rolls his eyes, walks past Sehun to plop on the sofa with a big bowl of popcorn in his hands. "You're such a coward. But sure, I get it. Mr. Carrot needs you."

Baekhyun and Kyungsoo giggle loudly. Sehun flushes the deepest red, hurries up the stairs, not looking back. "I'm just busy!"

The chuckles don't stop even when Sehun reaches his room. More voices join the ones he has already heard downstairs. The marathon has probably already started as Chanyeol, Jongin, and Yixing finally entered the house.

After dropping his backpack on the floor right where he's standing, Sehun waits no more to throw his body on the bed, tired, and most of all _terrified._

Although his housemates watch their movies on the ground floor, all creepy, disturbing noises reach Sehun's bedroom nevertheless. Even listening to music, the most common remedy, doesn't help getting rid of the chills the sounds give him, not when his mind likes to play them over and over again. 

Sehun went through that a year ago, and a year before that. Barely. _It’s only a month_ , he repeats to himself. He will survive. He is tough.

It's not even late, but the evening is glum and chilly, sleepy aura wafting in the autumnal air. Sehun doesn’t have any assignments due for the next day, so he can indulge himself by burying his body under the mountain of blankets, taking his lovely bunny plushie into an embrace, hugging it close. 

The young man smiles contentedly, petting the toy. Mr. Carrot is his companion since late childhood, his best friend, his rock during the toughest moments of life. Especially during Spooktober. 

Sehun covers his head with a huge pillow, too cold and scared to leave his lair in order to find ear plugs, an item he never needed before, yet living with his friends pushed him to the last resort. And Mr. Carrot seems enough. Mr. Carrot never disappoints. Sehun already feels way better.

Sniffing the familiar scent of his bunny haven, he falls asleep in a half-dreamy state, chills travelling up and down his spine from time to time. Sehun doesn't know yet, but the night won't be as peaceful as he hopes for it to be.

•

A loud scratch on the wooden door wakes Sehun from his restless sleep. The sound sharpens his senses as he sits up in bed, Mr. Carrot tightly clutched in his arms.

“W-Who’s there?” he asks timidly, voice shrill. “Baekhyun hyung? Jongdae hyung? Stop scaring me.”

No one answered. 

Sehun is almost painfully sure the two greatest pranksters of their group are trying to make fun of his Halloween phobia. It wouldn’t happen for the first time anyway.

The frightening sounds from downstairs assure Sehun that the marathon is still ongoing. His friends enjoy surprising him when he’s scared stiff and hiding in his room straying from their activities, somewhat excited at seeing the youngest’s misery, always laughing at his very animated reactions. It’s kind of embarrassing on top of the fear he encounters, but he knows they mean no harm whatsoever.

Sehun tries to be smarter this time round. He takes one of his slippers, very hesitantly tiptoes to the door, as quietly as possible. 

His hand lands on the door handle, unsure, slowly pressing long fingers to the cold surface as if it would crack under the touch. When the handle won’t move anymore, Sehun takes a deep breath and unlocks the door with one smooth motion, ready to kick his friends out and treat them with his weapon. But there’s no one in the corridor.

Sehun sticks his head out of the door frame, warily looks right, looks left. He’s alone. The pranksters must have hidden in one of the rooms, but weirdly, he didn’t hear anyone running around. 

The fear forces him to turn on the light. A tad bit more comforted now, he walks around the hall, (not) ready for the sudden confrontation. 

Sehun doesn’t like stepping into someone’s private space, but he has no choice now, flicking open every room swiftly, falling back in small jumps every time. There are four rooms on the first floor, four perfect spots for attacking him, all seemingly empty. It means one thing: the culprits must hide deep inside them, in the bathroom, or in the joint closet. 

Suddenly wide awake, Sehun is frightened to the core, the spooky sounds of the movie marathon and silent squeaks and hums coming from his friends not helping at all, so he decides not to check any of the spots, ignoring what seems to be yet another prank. He will spend the night safely in his warm bed behind the locked doors instead. 

After scanning every single inch of his surroundings twice and turning off the light with hesitation, he comes back to his room moving backwards so no one can surprise him from the corridor. The dim light of his bedside lamp illuminates the pervasive darkness a bit, showing no one outside as Sehun closes the door letting out a small huff, cold sweat lingering on his neck.

The young man turns on his heel, ready to visit the dreamland again, but then he freezes, his tall body wavering unconsciously like a blade of grass blown by the wind. Before Sehun can even register what’s in front of him, he screams at the top of his lungs, his voice loud and strident, filled with nothing but dread.

There’s another scream evident in the air, voice higher than Sehun’s, louder, almost inhumane, reverberating in the house like an echo. None of his friends could sound like this. 

Sehun feels warmth trailing away from his body, leaving him stone-cold, almost numb if not for the trembling under his skin. He backs off a bit, his gaze glued to the uncanny view.

There’s a… lower part of something akin to human body sticking out of the wall, quite short legs covered in denim wiggling feverishly over his desk. It seems unreal, since the limbs are almost transparent, glistening with weird aura, and there’s no hole in the wall. The other part of that _thing_ would be in the closet, but it’s not possible, no one can be stuck in a concrete like that, it’s _unreal_. 

If Sehun wasn’t such a scaredy-cat, he would check what’s on the other side of the wall, but he lets his mind work on its own, a mix of fright and adrenaline rushing through him. 

Not thinking much, he runs straight to the living room, still screaming, almost tripping over his own legs, tears filling his eyes. He barges into the dark room, creepy music coming out of the dimly-lit TV, icy fear curling around him.

Someone stops the video. Sehun finally goes silent and tries to catch his breath as he hears worried voices, feels warmth coming from his housemates gathered around him.

“Sehun? Did you have a nightmare?” Kyungsoo asks, trying to look him straight into the eyes. “What’s wrong?”

Sehun shakes his head at the question.

“Baekhyun! You did it, right?” he pokes his hyung in the chest. “The ghost in my room, it’s your doing!”

“Ghost,” Baekhyun actually snickers, heating up Sehun’s urge to smack him. “You’re blabbering now. It was just a bad dream.”

“I wasn’t dreaming! There are these legs sticking out of the wall in my bedroom. And that horrible scream, you had to hear it. Whoever decided it’s funny to do that to me is a total jerk! Baekhyun hyung, I know it was either you or Jongdae hyung!”

Jongdae scoffs, tries to say something, but Jongin stops him with a knowing look. Seven pairs of eyes stare intently at the almost crying boy in the middle of the room, trying to comprehend his words. Sehun knows it’s not unusual for him to appear scared in front of his friends, yet that situation is different. It never felt so real before.

“We only heard _your_ scream, Sehun,” Chanyeol pats him on the shoulder. “And let me tell you buddy, we got really worried. Come on, it’s probably because you watched one of those dumb videos Dae sends to the group chat every day.”

Jongdae scoffs even louder, throwing an angry look at Chanyeol crumbling under his gaze. Sehun wants to protest, but he sees that no one believes him, no one wants to admit who is the culprit. 

The choir of loud voices hits Sehun’s ears as his friends assure him they were only watching the movie, no pranks intended, and they will end the marathon for tonight so he can peacefully go to sleep. A bit hurt, still cold despite warm touches, Sehun gives up. He nods, sulky, looking at Baekhyun and Jongdae with sullen resentment.

His friends smile at him and proceed to end their fun evening earlier than they planned.

“Chanyeol hyung,” Sehun makes puppy eyes at the slightly taller man. “Come with me, please. Someone has to get rid of that thing in my room. You will see I’m not lying.”

Chanyeol is scared himself, but considerably less than Sehun, trying to look all cool and unbothered, so he agrees. Leaving everyone behind, they both climb up the stairs, side by side, shoulders brushing comfortingly. The older opens the door, looks about with a frown across his face. 

Sehun deflates when there’s actually nothing or no one in his room. 

“See, there’s no ghost here. Go to sleep, Sehunnie,” Chanyeol leans closer to Sehun, his voice turned into a whisper. “And don’t watch those videos anymore. I don’t like them myself as well, but— You know, don’t tell Jongdae.”

Sehun pouts. “I didn’t… Uhh, alright. I won’t,” he settles on not countering his friend. “Goodnight, hyung.”

“Night night,” Chanyeol ruffles Sehun’s mop of messy hair, leaving the room while tiredly rubbing at his eyes.

Just like that, Sehun is alone again, his mind a mess of blurry visions and thoughts.

He is sure he wasn’t sleeping when he saw… that _thing_. Even the assurance of his friends doesn’t help much, especially because they might not be aware that one of them actually prepared a prank behind the other’s back. Sehun knows them too well.

Even if he doesn’t really feel like sleeping, the bed invites him. Sehun covers himself tightly with a blanket, taking Mr. Carrot in his arms. He gawks at the wall one last time, and when he sees nothing, his eyes close on their own. 

Sehun calms down to the sound of his steady breathing, sleep eventually tugging at his mind.

After quite some time, when everyone in the house is deeply asleep, a small, timid figure slowly peeks out of Sehun’s wardrobe, walking out of the piece of furniture straight into the dark bedroom. It looks at Sehun, a bit shy and overwhelmed, definitely fascinated, beaming with curiosity.

Something encourages it to touch the young man. Before it reaches the soft mattress, though, it trips on Sehun’s messily thrown backpack, somehow falling through the bed instead of hitting it, landing on the floor beneath it, cursing silently under its breath while suddenly reaching the ground with a loud thud. 

Sehun’s eyes are drawn open immediately. His gaze quickly wanders around the room. The crash sounded like something fell off his shelf or his desk, but he finds everything in its respective place. Either his housemates are being noisy again, or something seems suspicious. Sehun wishes it’s not the latter.

The evening is too abnormal to let strange sounds slide into oblivion, that is why Sehun grabs something more solid this time, a plastic lightsaber he got from Jongin for Christmas last year, quickly deciding to deal with whoever disturbs him, once and for all. He’s scared, he’s _terrified,_ but he desperately wants to finally be at peace in his own room.

A sudden shuffling and a silent moan make him tighten the grip on the toy in his hand. The boy isn’t brave enough to move, so he waits. 

Sehun gulps. Maybe he is really dreaming about these things after all. Maybe the sound, the thing earlier, it all was a figment of his imagination. 

Then, as if on cue, Sehun sees someone crawling from under his bed, struggling to slide on the wooden floor. He wants to scream, but his voice gets stuck in his throat, a huge lump locking any possible sound inside.

The person stands up, unbothered, trying to get rid of the imaginary dust from their clothes. Sehun cannot believe what is unfolding in front of his eyes. This is that _thing_ he saw earlier. This is his ghost. Or at least what it seems to be.

But instead encountering a creepy creature, there’s a young man dressed in a fluffy colorful sweater. He is small, his shoulders a bit shrunken, hair dark, messy, falling on his forehead. 

Cute. That’s the word coming to Sehun’s head as he looks at him.

Sehun blinks rapidly. There’s almost a blinding halo around the man’s body, engulfing the tiny form in a shiny embrace, and Sehun wonders if he can really see his wardrobe through the stranger’s chest or his mind is playing games with him.

“W-Who are you? What are you doing here? How did you get into my room? How… how did you get under my bed?” Sehun manages to say, spluttering questions, aiming the lightsaber at the intruder, still sitting in his bed wrapped up in a blanket.

The stranger seems to be surprised, looks around as if in search for someone else who Sehun could speak to, and then he smiles, his cheeks rounding up. “I’m Junmyeon.”

“Huh. Are you a thief?” Sehun asks, not content with the cryptic answer. “What are you doing here?”

Sehun tries to use his intimidating voice, but he knows it probably sounds akin to a roaring kitten pretending to be a lion. Something changes in the mysterious figure’s eyes, as if he finally understood something he couldn’t comprehend before, and he opens his mouth ready to shout _eureka!._

“I’m not a thief. And you are Oh Sehun,” the Junmyeon man answers excitedly, a faint aura around him shining brighter than before.

Sehun gasps, his hands shaky, tight on the plastic toy. “How do you know? That’s it, I’m calling the po—”

“Thought you will figure it out by now, but it seems you’re not as wise as I've heard,” the figure straightens up, hands proudly resting on his hips. “I’m Kim Junmyeon, a friendly ghost. To be precise, I’m your _personal_ friendly ghost. Hello.”

They both look at each other in silence. Sehun can’t suppress a silent snort, not believing in any word the… the person said. He should be more scared, or at least cautious, yet all he can do is think how stupid and unbelievable that sounds, more irritated than afraid. 

Junmyeon frowns at him, his body more bleak, more transparent now.

“A personal— This is ridiculous. Listen, if you’re trying to draw my attention away, you won’t succeed. Leave this house immediately,” Sehun gets out of bed carried by the sudden wave of courage, still keeping the distance between him and the intruder.

The stranger stomps his foot on the floor, no sound following the movement. “But I’m telling the truth!”

“Ghosts don't exist. They don’t,” Sehun shakes his head in disbelief. “Baekhyun hyung hired you to scare me, right?”

Junmyeon crosses arms on his chest, lips forming into a pout. “I don’t know any Baekhyun. I wasn’t hired, that’s my duty to be your personal ghost. I was told that when I appeared in the Ghost Land and got you assigned.”

Sehun simply chuckles against the surface of his hand that he dragged all over his face in tiredness. He is done with the conversation. That's obvious it’s either one of those lucid dreams or a stupid joke, both quite likely to happen, at least more than the person in front of him being an actual ghost. 

It appears more of a dream, though, because something doesn’t click. Sehun is confused about one, very significant thing.

The young man looks up and down the stranger's body, trying to find any explanation of the transparency and the shiny halo, going haywire. Nothing comes to his mind, _nothing._ Sehun is keen on technology, always tries to stay up to date with new inventions, yet hasn’t heard about anything that would let someone be almost invisible.

But then, this is a strange world. Or he can hold onto the theory that he is dreaming. He definitely is.

“Okay, uh, listen Junmyeon,” Sehun says, trying to ignore the urge to run away and ask someone for help. “It’s late and you should go back to your Ghost Land or whatever.” 

Junmyeon rolls his eyes, takes a few steps forward. Sehun wants to scream again, but his chest and throat are continuously tightened in fear. He holds his only weapon right in front of him.

To his surprise, Junmyeon doesn’t hit the lightsaber. He flows through it. And then he flows through Sehun too, a weird sensation building up in Sehun’s gut as he feels something similar to cold mist on his skin. The young man lets out a silent whine, his limbs shaking uncontrollably.

If Sehun thought he wasn’t scared before, he is petrified now.His whole body is quivering. It’s not real, not real, _not real._ Junmyeon didn’t just do _that_ , right? 

Sehun feverishly touches his clothed chest in the spot where the stranger flew through him, turning around to meet Junmyeon’s eyes. 

“Told you I’m a ghost,” Junmyeon shrugs seeing Sehun’s blank face, comfortably settling himself on the bed next to the bunny plushie.

“This is not real,” Sehun mouths under his breath, but Junmyeon hears it anyway.

“Don’t repeat that all the time. You just saw me coming through you. Which I’m surprised actually worked, because earlier when I tried to come through the wall, I got stuck,” the ghost sighs exasperatedly. “Actually, you shouldn’t have seen me then, but I guess if you already have, I don’t have to hide anymore. We can be friends now.”

Junmyeon beams at Sehun, illuminating the dark room. His gaze focuses on the bunny toy next to him, and his aura is suddenly even more vibrant, almost blinding.

“In the wall earlier… it was you?” Sehun can’t help but ask dumbly, still not believing the stranger’s words. “How— No, it’s not possible. And we definitely can’t be friends.”

A flash of hurt appears in Junmyeon’s expression. 

“Okay, I agree I did something wrong. I scared you, and that’s the thing I definitely shouldn’t do as a friendly ghost,” Junmyeon tries to grab Mr. Carrot in his hands but for some reason they go through the plushie instead of actually catching the toy, causing Junmyeon’s illuminating body to fade, and Sehun to whine at the abnormal view. 

“J-Junmyeon?”

“But, you see,” Junmyeon continues, visibly annoyed now, still trying to hold Mr. Carrot, to no avail. “They told me I have to learn my job and come to your world afterwards. But hey, I couldn’t wait. It’s so boring, Sehun! I wanted to get to know you! And I’d rather learn everything here. I came through the door, even if they told me not to, and landed here, in the closet next to your room.”

" _They_? Who? What?”

“Oh boy, are you even listening to me?” Junmyeon seems even more annoyed when he stands up on Sehun’s bed abruptly, towering over him. “They. Senior ghosts. I’m barely a newbie, don’t know what I should or shouldn’t do. That’s why I ended up here in your wall, cause they didn’t teach me how to go through things yet. Actually, they didn’t teach me anything at all...”

Junmyeon trails off, gets lost in his thoughts, and Sehun can’t ignore the way the ghost’s body becomes more and more transparent, then illuminates again, only to become faint one more time.

Sehun takes a sharp breath, looks at the wall where he first saw Junmyeon, or at least a part of him. “Okay. Okay, let’s say I believe you,” he halts then, taking Mr. Carrot away from the proximity of the ghost, ignoring Junmyeon’s pout. “If you came here through the door, then you can always come back. You should. They might worry about you, or even if they don’t… just go.”

It sounded very rude, but at this point Sehun can’t care less, even if the expression on the ghost’s disappearing face makes him feel a bit guilty somehow.

“They are rather mad than worried. Also, it’s not like I didn’t try to come back,” Junmyeon suddenly flies down on the floor, startling Sehun who jumps back and trips on his backpack, almost landing down on his butt. “The door won’t open. I’m forced to stay here, in your world.”

Sehun whines, literally looks through Junmyeon, gathering his thoughts.

“Show me the door, maybe I will open them for you,” Sehun offers, desperate to get rid of the intruder.

“It’s in your closet,” Junmyeon points at the wall. “That’s why I tried to get there and got stuck.”

Sehun nods at that, hesitantly leaving his safe spot to quietly check the other room. Frankly speaking, he has never seen any hidden doors there.

They both enter the closet. Sehun expectantly looks at Junmyeon. “And? Where is your door?”

“Here. Behind the coats,” Junmyeon moves the clothes away, clumsily dropping some of them on the floor, tugging at something that Sehun doesn’t see. “Still closed.”

Sehun narrows his brows. “You wanna say you come from some kind of Narnia?” he mumbles. “I see no doors here.”

Junmyeon tries to scold Sehun with his gaze, the act not intimidating at all. Sehun timidly moves closer, eyes focused on the spot where Junmyeon supposedly came from. Nothing.

“I’m not lying, Sehun,” Junmyeon whines. “Please, believe me.”

A snort comes from Sehun’s lips. This is ridiculous. Of course Sehun doesn’t believe him. 

“Leave before I call the police. That’s my last word,” despite the overwhelming fear, Sehun is stern. “I will show you the front door. Though I’m sure you know where they are, you had to come through them after all.”

Junmyeon goes quiet. To Sehun’s surprise, the man averts his gaze and nods, barely visible now. 

Sehun feels uncomfortable opening the door, chilly air hitting his clothed skin. The intruder would be nowhere to be seen if not for the still dimly shining aura around his body. Something is either wrong or definitely right if Junmyeon is like a fleeting cloud of smoke to Sehun’s eyes.

And when Sehun is safely tucked under the blanket for the countless time this night, he feels a pang of guilt because of throwing Junmyeon out, but it’s only a short, meaningless moment. It all is a dream after all.

Sehun hopes that the noise of the front door closing, probably pushed by the gust of wind with a loud thud, and a sound of Minseok’s favourite vase crashing on the floor are also a part of that dream.

•

Days are flowing as fast as leaves falling from the trees, covering the ground with a palette of brown and orange hues, changing the baby blue color of the sky into something more stifling.

The autumn is exceptionally sunny yet chilly. Sehun obviously isn’t keen on the season, not when Spooktober exists within it, that’s why he doesn’t particularly pay attention to the aura around him. He’s kind of happy it isn’t very gloomy, though, or else he would literally opt for hibernation due to his current state.

Every autumn has been bearable to him so far. _Decent_ at most. He has always been the one to survive his toughest times in some way, usually by being a blanket burrito, and he would have managed this time as well, if not for pretty unexpected, slowly but steadily appearing problems, already forming a considerable pile in the center of his mind.

Professors are throwing mountains of assignments on him. His parents are nagging him to come visit them soon. His friends organize a spooky circus in their shared house. On top of it all, he lost his _favourite_ scarf somewhere among all the outer clothing scattered around their hall. Probably one of his hyungs has borrowed it, which is equal to the possibility of not seeing it ever again. Not in its perfect state, at least.

Much to his discontent, Sehun also keeps sneezing all the time, devoid of the very needed protection of his immune system. Great.

All of it sounds shattering already. Sounds like too much for his stressed body. But it isn’t even the worst. Nothing could be worse than _this._

His main problem is a certain ghost. Or, to be painfully precise, his clumsiness.

Well, Sehun has actually fully acknowledged Junmyeon’s existence as a paranormal creature. It took him quite some time, an enormous amount of nerves, a few sleepless nights, and - what is the most significant - _lots_ of damage control. 

It all started the night after Junmyeon’s first appearance. 

Sehun woke up with a heavy head, feeling as if he had a hangover from the amount of fear he had swallowed down his throat during the night. He tried to keep calm, but it was simply impossible. A weird intruder had told him he’s a ghost. There was no way Sehun would let it slide. Not when he remembered the uncanny feeling of Junmyeon's presence by his side.

As he was too afraid to search for anything about ghosts on the internet, he kept asking all of his classmates and close friends whether they believe in paranormal activities or not. Most of them laughed, brushed it off, or tried to scare him even more. However, one story he heard from Yixing, which made it more likely because of the man's honesty, sent chills down Sehun’s spine. It hit way too close to home.

“My father’s friend claims he sees ghosts,” Yixing stated. “Or rather one of them. You know, they’re talking very often, and the guy says the ghost is cool."

“O-Oh. _Cool._ Do other people see or hear that ghost, though?” Sehun asked timidly.

Yixing was ready to answer, but Kyungsoo snickered, interrupting him. “Is the dude for real? I mean, seeing ghosts might be even true in some cases, but being their friends sounds like a poor joke.”

The rest of the group laughed as well, but Sehun didn’t feel amused at all, swallowing a big lump forming in his throat.

“No idea. His family thinks he’s crazy, but who knows,” Yixing shrugged, then comfortingly clasped his hand on Sehun’s back. “Stop worrying about yesterday's incident, Sehun. We all know you were simply scared. You don’t see ghosts.”

Sehun didn’t stop worrying. If anything, his worries grew in size. He couldn’t stop thinking about the weird encounter. He needed confirmation.

That night he saw the ghost once again. Junmyeon was casually lying down on his bed when Sehun came back home late from the basketball training.

“Glad to see you!” Junmyeon exclaimed, smiling, not paying attention to the evident shock drawn all over Sehun’s face.

Sehun simply looked at Junmyeon, _through_ Junmyeon, noticing his unworldly gleam, paying attention to his transparency yet again. That's not normal. _Paranormal._

Earlier that day, he made an important decision after letting his mind roam around the new situation for way too long, not being able to focus on his lectures. Seemed like there’s no other choice for him than to give Junmyeon a benefit of the doubt before Sehun loses his mind.

“Junmyeon.”

“Hm? Why are you looking at me like that?” Junmyeon pouted through his smiley expression, and Sehun almost turned into a puddle of nervous goo. “I didn’t touch your plushie.”

“That’s not— Junmyeon,” Sehun pronounced the name slowly, precisely, feeling the trickle of sweat sliding down his spine. “Are you, you know… are you really a ghost? Really? One hundred percent sure?”

Junmyeon’s glistening aura faded, a small smile he threw at Sehun suddenly dropping into a grimace. “You still don’t believe me.” 

It wasn’t a question. Sehun didn’t answer.

“I get it,” Junmyeon stood up, sighing deeply. “Hard to comprehend, but I _am_ a ghost. I don’t lie. Never.”

“Alright,” Sehun nodded reluctantly. “Alright, then. Then tell me more about… the whole ghost business. About you.”

“You wanna know?” Junmyeon beamed at Sehun, jumping around him like a bouncy, fluffy cloud. “Wanna know me better? 

Sehun inhaled, somehow feeling at ease even if he just got a confirmation that the vibrant man is _definitely_ a ghost _._ That’s still better than Junmyeon being a human intruder, though, because in some way that would be way creepier than seeing a paranormal creature.

Moreover, Junmyeon is harmless. Appears to be a little bit annoying, clumsy, and very soft. Perhaps Sehun isn't in need for a new friend, especially not such a bizarre one, but it’s not like he has any choice now. 

“Yeah. I do.”

“So,” Junmeon probed. “I assume we can be friends.”

“Um, I guess? I guess we can.”

Junmyeon squealed loudly, happily, gesturing for Sehun to sit down on the bed, meanwhile he was walking around the room, telling everything in the manner of a bit too excited kid gushing about his first day of school. 

He told Sehun he doesn’t remember his human life, doesn’t have any memories apart from his name. He has the basic knowledge about the world, about various things, yet doesn’t know anything about his own self. It made Sehun sad somehow. He kind of pitied Junmyeon, after all.

Apart from that, Sehun found out that Junmyeon can be seen only by him, and the ghost is trapped in the human world until he finds out how to be a diligent one. It’s unusual for a newbie to learn those things themselves, but it is a punishment for his incompetence. He is forced to appear among humans when the sun goes down and come back to the Ghost Land after the sunrise. Only when Junmyeon learns to control himself, he will be free to come and go whenever he wants.

Seems like teaching a ghost how to be, well, _a_ _ghost_ is not impossible. The problem is, Junmyeon has no idea how to do his job properly. Has no idea why he can't disappear, become transparent, go through objects when he wishes for it. He is guessing, moving like a child who only learnt to walk.

Sehun nodded at everything that he comprehended that night. He caught himself utterly believing Junmyeon’s words this time. They became trapped together, so it’s definitely better to accept the situation and be on good terms. Who knows what ghosts are capable of.

Also, the faster Junmyeon learns, the faster he will leave him alone, or at least won’t visit him every night. Right?

After their talk, they moved on to leading a normal life, existing together in a symbiosis. Or at least Junmyeon claims it is one, trying his best to make Sehun’s life easier, as he is sure that’s what friendly ghosts do, obviously. In the last few days he tried to be of help. Well, he _tried._

Sehun wouldn’t name it anything close to help _._ Junmyeon is too clumsy for that. The ghost has created chaos in Sehun’s room and their whole house in what he called _a series of very unfortunate events._

It was very unfortunate indeed.

Junmyeon wanted to bring Sehun some food when the boy was studying, but the plate suddenly landed on the floor, breaking into tiny pieces. _T_ _hree_ days in a row. 

Junmyeon wanted to help Sehun pick an outfit for a party, so he opened the wardrobe a little bit too excitedly, not noticing a lamp, knocking it over, hitting Sehun trying to save it straight in the head. 

Junmyeon wanted to make Sehun’s process of falling asleep pleasurable by playing relaxing music. On his own. So he took Chanyeol’s guitar, to Sehun’s horror, and plucked the strings quite skillfully. 

The ghost was so happy his fingers brushed on the surface and made a coherent sound that he didn't realize he did it very loudly, probably waking up the rest of the house. Sehun tried to save the situation, but Junmyeon was too stubborn, eager to play more, suddenly scared of Sehun taking this moment away from him, so he became almost invisible, dropping the instrument to the ground. One of the strings broke. Chanyeol was furious. At Sehun, naturally.

All of the housemates were a bit shaken, because day by day Junmyeon was even more clumsy, the house even more messy, and of course they were sure it’s all Sehun’s doing.

Sehun stares out the window, sighing exasperatedly, reminiscing the last two weeks. This morning he promised himself he will do everything he can not to let Junmyeon cause more damage. He is too tired, has too much on his shoulders already. Junmyeon was supposed to help, but so far all he has done was disturb Sehun’s peace, making his hyungs angry in the process.

It's not like he hates Junmyeon. He doesn't. In some weird way, Sehun appreciates yet another presence in their loud house, likes spending time with his new companion. Ironically, he is able to survive Spooktober solely by having a ghost by his side. 

It doesn't change the fact that the whole situation needs some major changes.

Tonight he will be strict, make some important rules of their... friendship. There's no space for brushing the problem off. They both have to face it like adults.

The evening comes faster than Sehun expected. He has a hunch that tonight’s conversation might be difficult. Who knows how it will end.

Junmyeon waits for him in his room already, as usual when it becomes dark outside. The ghost is sitting on the floor, folding Sehun’s clothes into a neat tower. Sehun blinks at the view. 

Junmyeon is doing very well it seems, being able to touch every object without hesitation.

The happy bubble pops the moment the ghost notices Sehun standing in the doorway. Always smiling from eye to eye, Junmyeon takes all folded clothes in his hands, probably eager to proudly show Sehun his job, but the moment he stands up, all of the clothing falls down through his hands, forming a little mess on the floor.

The most unexpected thing happens a moment later. Junmyeon starts sobbing, no tears falling from his eyes at the motion. The ghost throws his body on Sehun’s bed, luckily being able to lay on it this time round, and tries to hide his face in the pillow.

Sehun cannot move, mouth agape, eyes wide, focused on a barely visible lump laying among his sheets. He has to do something.

The young man closes the distance in a few quick steps, carefully sitting next to Junmyeon on the bed. Usually Sehun would give a crying person a hug, or pat them on the back or the head, but… Junmyeon is just a ghost. He cannot do that. He feels lost.

“It’s okay, Junmyeon. It's nothing. We’ll pick up the clothes,” Sehun tries to make his voice as comforting as he possibly can. “Don’t cry.”

Surprisingly, Junmyeon sobs even more. “It’s n-not about the c-clothes.”

“No?”

“No!” Junmyeon practically shouts, his voice high-pitched, not muffled by the pillow smashed to his face. “I k-keep failing you and other ghosts! I can’t d-do anything! I’m useless, and I will be stuck here f-forever without any aim. I’m s-sorry.”

“Hey,” Sehun takes the pillow away from under Junmyeon’s head, and the ghost plops on the bed looking like a starfish, still reluctant to look into Sehun’s direction. “You’re not useless. You’re still learning, and we learn from our mistakes.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Sehun leans down when he sees Junmyeon’s head finally turning away from his bed so their gazes can meet. “You— _We_ will try to figure it out.”

Junmyeon’s eyes are shining like two little stars, the only ones so distinct on the canopy of the night, his body illuminating the room into a beautiful shade of blinding blue.

“You deserve a better friendly ghost,” Junmyeon sniffles.

“Stop,” Sehun chimes in. “Maybe you’re a bit clumsy at times, and a bit messy, but you’re the only ghost I know. The only one I want to know. You’re, um, you’re _special._ And you’re cute. Look at you in your fluffy sweater. Who would want another ghost if there’s Kim Junmyeon?”

Sehun feels heat rushing to his cheeks. He isn’t good at comforting nor complimenting, but his heart is breaking at the view of distressed Junmyeon. He can’t help his inner empathetic self. 

Even though he’s stressed about the whole situation, he feels that he has to support Junmyeon on their journey together. If they are supposed to be bonded for life, Sehun actually wants them to be friends, despite his initial thoughts about simply getting rid of a new addition to his life.

Junmyeon finally stops sniffling, sits up next to Sehun, shooting a beautiful smile his way.

"You think… I'm cute? Not scary, right? Cute."

Sehun simply nods.

"I assure you I'm the cutest ghost out there," Junmyeon giggles, but his expression becomes serious a moment later. "Thank you. I promise I won't throw any tantrums again. I will try harder. Maybe I can make you some food—"

"I'm not hungry!" Sehun is waving his hands in the air as he answers, probably too quickly, but he hopes Junmyeon didn't notice. "We can find you another task for today."

"Oh. Well, as long as I'm useful, I'm in," doe-eyed Junmyeon fixes Sehun with an expectant glare, pouting cutely.

Sehun wants to squish his cheeks. Such a shame he can't.

The man stands up, adjusts the blanket on his bed, props the pillow against the wall.

"Here," Sehun gestures at the seat he just made. "Sit and talk to me while I’m studying. Your voice is soothing."

Sehun is sure that if Junmyeon could blush, he definitely would then. The ghost moves further on the bed, leaning his back on the soft pillow, sitting comfortingly accompanied by Mr. Carrot.

"You sure it's enough? Maybe I can do more?"

Junmyeon literally buzzes with energy, and Sehun knows he should give him some useful task so the ghost can use his excess vitality well, but they have to get to it in small steps. No more broken things in the house. Not on Sehun's watch.

Sehun moves to his swivel chair, sits at the desk, opens up some notebooks. His eyes find Junmyeon, a little fluffy ball of light, and he casts the ghost the most genuine smile since ages.

"It's enough. Your presence is enough. _You_ are enough."

The ghost shines bright at Sehun’s words. They spend another night together, sometimes in utter silence, sometimes talking, sometimes listening to some music playing from Sehun's speakers.

Junmyeon hums to the tunes, content look painting his pretty face, grinning from eye to eye. His aura is as shiny as ever, and Sehun believes he knows what causes it to be this way. He has noticed that a few times.

Whenever Junmyeon is happy, he gleams with the most beautiful light. Whenever Junmyeon is stressed, his tiny body fades a bit. The way Junmyeon looks mostly depends on his mood.

At this moment, in his own room, feeling the warmth of the cosy space and another presence in his proximity, Sehun regrets Junmyeon can't be a human being as well. They could do so many amazing things together as friends, not only during the night.

Reality can't be changed, but Sehun sets himself a very important goal instead of fighting the inevitable. Sehun promises himself he will help Junmyeon the best he can. He will help Junmyeon shine like the brightest star of the universe, beam with happiness, and care, and love. 

He will help Junmyeon feel as if he's alive once again.

•

“Are you sure you did it right?” Sehun asks, brows raised so high they are almost touching his hairline, eyes open wide in slight horror.

They are both standing in the bathroom filled with loud humming noise.

“There’s nothing difficult in doing laundry,” Junmyeon shrugs, pointing at the still working washing machine. “Besides, I’ve watched a tutorial on your laptop.”

Sehun doesn’t want to know where Junmyeon got his password from. Apart from that, he has a gnawing feeling that despite the assurance from the ghost, something definitely _could_ go wrong.

“If you say so,” Sehun mutters, impatiently waiting for the laundry to be done. “Though I told you that you don’t have to do anything for me, Junmyeon.”

“Yeah, yeah. Small steps. No clumsiness,” the ghost nods, crossing his arms on his chest, averting his gaze to Sehun’s face. “But how am I supposed to learn anything by lazing around?”

“That’s why it’s called small steps.”

Junmyeon smiles sourly. “I’d rather do everything in big leaps.”

“I know,” Sehun sighs, looks straight into Junmyeon’s eyes, and the ghost immediately beams brighter. “That’s why you ended up here with me in the first place.”

The smaller one frowns, definitely wants to make a remark, but the loud beep of the washing machine interrupts their discussion.

Junmyeon is excited, hops to the door to take care of the freshly washed garments. The smell of the fabric softener hits Sehun’s nostrils, soothes his nerves a little.

Sehun tries not to be too content too early. It’s never anything certain when it comes to his friendly ghost.

And he is right.

Junmyeon is silent, blocking the view by closing the door again, the tension evident in the air.

“And?”

“Don’t be mad at me.”

“Junmyeon,” Sehun closes his eyes, takes a deep breath.

“I have no idea how it happened! I made sure to put in _on_ _ly_ white clothes! Why is everything… pink?” Junmyeon is animatedly pulling at his hair in an act of pure distress.

Sehun doesn’t even have patience for Junmyeon to explain it further. He crouches in front of the washing machine and peeks on the inside, noticing a sea of fabric in various shades of pink. Among them, he finds a lone red sock.

He’s annoyed. Very annoyed. He doesn’t snap at Junmyeon, though. It wouldn’t change anything, only make the evening more gloomy than it already is. 

Junmyeon continues his rambling, pretty much disappointed with himself. “I checked twice, I don't know how the sock got in there… it’s not fair! Everything was going so well, and then I reminded myself that you are coming soon, and I got really stressed, and started throwing everything in—”

“Huh? Why would you be stressed?” Sehun furrows his brows, taking out all the clothes, sighing silently when he finds some of his favourite white t-shirts pretty much _not white_ anymore.

“Cause, you know,” Junmyeon stands up, looks down on Sehun when he tilts his head up draping Junmyeon with a questioning stare. “You are my duty. I should take care of you. I want to do everything the best I can, so it always stresses me out.”

Sehun sighs loudly this time. “Thought I am your friend, not your duty.”

Those words seem to have a magical effect on the ghost, because he gleams after he almost faded from shame.

“You are. You are my friend. I didn’t mean—”

“Then don’t treat it all, don't treat _me_ like a duty. Maybe then, when you’re not stressed about it, you will actually be able to control your abilities.”

“Oh. _Oh.”_

Sehun nods, actually realizing that by mistake he just found a key to Junmyeon’s biggest problem. It makes sense. Every time the ghost has been destroying something or getting clumsy, it's been done in Sehun’s presence. 

“Stress can be deceiving,” Sehun smiles, and Junmyeon reciprocates it, very dimly. “Whenever I get anxious during my basketball training, I can never score any point. Then I remember I actually _can_ , but my mind is blocking me from doing it.”

“And what do you do to unlock it?” the ghost asks with silent voice.

“I think about something nice. About something that makes me laugh or smile. It helps,” Sehun takes all the clothes and heads out to put them into the dryer. “Do you have anything like this?"

Junmyeon seems to be thinking very intensely, moving his head up and down in reverie.

“Bunnies,” he answers excitedly. “I love bunnies. They’re super cute. Never fail to make me smile.”

 _Just like you,_ Sehun thinks. Junmyeon actually reminds him of a bunny sometimes. 

"Then think about bunnies whenever you're stressed. We'll see if it helps."

"You're a genius, Sehun," Junmyeon almost squeaks.

“Don't flatter me. Better help me pack it up so we can do something fun,” Sehun puts some of his candy-pink t-shirts in Junmyeon's hands, and surprisingly they stay in their respective place. “Maybe we can watch that movie you said you liked.”

Junmyeon then becomes Sehun’s favourite gleaming star yet again. Sehun wishes for him to always be this happy.

•

Before Sehun can even blink, October comes to an end. Luckily or not, it happens to be Halloween already, the most important part of the month for his friends, the cherry on top. 

For the consecutive two years he had to almost beg his friends not to dress up and go out for trick-or-treating and then a crazy college party. This year he had a great excuse, though. 

His little sneezing going on and off for most of the month eventually became unbearable, and he even called in sick, not going to his lectures, staying in his warm room for the whole day instead.

Sehun feels much better, but he won’t admit it to his hyungs. They’re all pretty much ready, dressed in their intricately prepared spooky costumes, and Sehun can’t help but smile at the view. They take their annual photo, Baekhyun not letting them forget about the tradition. Sehun wears a bunny headband to at least pretend he’s taking part in their fun activities.

“We will bring you lots of candies, Sehunnie,” Jongdae exclaims as he steps through the threshold, looking all elegant and scary in his vampire costume. “Behave well when hyungs are out.”

“Sure,” Sehun smirks, focusing his gaze on Chanyeol glued to Jongdae’s side, his Iron Man suit making him look all buff. “I don’t think I’m the one who has to be cautious here.”

Chanyeol blushes the brightest red while everyone except Jongdae laughs at Sehun’s snarky remark. Soon they all wave goodbye and leave Sehun alone. Well, except he isn’t.

“What a funny group of friends you have, _Sehunnie,_ ” Junmyeon chuckles, tugging at Sehun’s headband. 

“They’re the best. Couldn’t wish for anything more.”

The ghost smiles delicately, but Sehun notices the slight fade of his aura. 

They move back to Sehun’s room, planning to lie down on the bed, listen to music, simply enjoy the evening. In the last two weeks they were doing this pretty often, sometimes because Sehun was too tired to do anything else, sometimes because Junmyeon was upset about yet another clumsy failure.

Tonight, though, they do it out of sheer happiness, just to spend time with each other.

Junmyeon has been doing very well recently. Knowing the source of his problem, they could mitigate the frequency of the unfortunate events.

Yesterday the ghost didn’t drop anything, could touch every surface he wanted to, and even was able to come through the wall, though Sehun asked him not to do that. Especially not when he is taking a shower.

It seems like Junmyeon is ready to snatch the title of the best friendly ghost of the year. Sehun is really proud of him, since the success didn’t come to him simply. They, Junmyeon most of all, had to put lots of effort to reach this point.

Sehun lifted up the corners of his lips when his body touched the soft bedding. Junmyeon is lying next to him, weirdly downbeat.

There’s not much space between their bodies. Sehun is constantly catching himself thinking what a shame it is that Junmyeon can’t touch human beings as well. That's weird, but they tried doing it many times, and finally Junmyeon managed to find out it's ghosts' nature, a rule they cannot break. He’s been thinking about hugging Junmyeon for a long time nevertheless.

“Sehun,” Junmyeon’s silent, hesitant voice breaks him out of his train of thought.

“Yes?” 

“I feel like… like I’ll be able to be back in the Ghost Land for real. Very soon.”

“I think so too. You’ve done it, Junmyeon. I’m proud of you, you know?”

Junmyeon hums, fading, disappearing. “Sehun. I will be able to go back, but it means I still will come here every night, or every few nights. And I was wondering. Just, you know, thinking a lot about our friendship, and about you, and…”

The ghost’s voice catches in his chest when he lets out something similar to a puff of breath. Then Sehun realizes that Junmyeon sobs with his eyes closed.

“Junmyeon, what’s wrong?” Sehun moves closer, closer, pretending their arms are almost touching. “What’s wrong, bunny _?”_

Junmyeon visibly shivers with pleasure at the sweet name. “I don’t know if you want me to come back here. I mean, I have to, but you won’t have to _see_ me if you don’t want to.”

Junmyeon said the words so quickly and so silently that Sehun barely catches the meaning. 

He doesn’t think much before taking Mr. Carrot from the corner of his bed and holding it in front of the ghost.

“Open your eyes, please,” when Junmyeon does, Sehun beams down at him, though there's moisture lingering on the edge of his eyelids. “You might have your duty to fulfill, but ain’t you a _friendly_ ghost, hm? You’re supposed to be my friend. Right?"

The ghost nods, his shiny halo slowly coming back. Junmyeon’s eyes are glued to the plushie in Sehun’s hand, suddenly too shy to look straight at the man.

“Right,” he moves the stuffed animal closer to Junmyeon. “So, friends should meet each other. See each other. I want to see you, of course.”

“You do?”  
  
“I do,” Sehun confirms. “That’s why, when you leave in the very morning, you will take Mr. Carrot with you. I can’t sleep without him, so you have a very important duty to bring him back to me."

Junmyeon has shock painted all over his face. He hesitantly reaches out and grabs the plushie, the bunny clutched tightly in his hand now.

Sehun eagerly nods when Junmyeon’s expression turns into somewhat questioning one, and the ghost averts his shiny eyes, two little stars, straight to Sehun’s equally shining, dark pupils.

“You can keep him for as long as you want,” Sehun adds.

“Can I keep _you,_ too?” Junmyeon says while bringing the plushie to his chest, voice heavy with emotion.

Sehun lies down again, shoulder to shoulder with his friend.

“You can. No, you _have to_. There’s no other choice for you now.”

“Good,” Junmyeon whispers, shining the brightest ever, illuminating Sehun’s life. “Good, because I couldn’t wish for anything more.”

Even though they seem so different, literally come from two different worlds, their friendship blooms every night. Despite all the problems appearing on their way, Sehun is sure they can, and will defy the odds.

And even if Junmyeon can only hold objects, not being able to initiate any physical contact with human beings, Sehun tries to imagine he feels Junmyeon’s hand on his. It lacks the usual warmth, yet not the comfort. If anything, it makes Sehun feel safe.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Writing this fic was a challenge of some sort, and not gonna lie... I almost gave up at some point. But I'm very glad I finished it. It was lots of fun eventually.
> 
> Tried to make it as fluffy and sweet as possible, though my fingers were itching to write some light angst shshs. Can't help it, I'm such an angst lover c: Since it is my own vision of Sehunnie and his clumsy friend Junmyeon, I let my imagination flow and come up with Ghost Lands, and some funny rules, and my own image of what we can call a friendly ghost. I really, really hope you like the way I portrayed the main duo and other characters who made their brief appearance as well (and if you by any chance noticed a hint of chanchen... then you're right hihi).
> 
> If you enjoyed the story, please leave kudos and comments, so I can know what you think! I'm so excited to hear your thoughts. If you have questions, also leave them in the comments, or you can wait for the reveals and hmu on twitter then. Have a spooky Halloween and take care ♡


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